How do I file taxes as a Canadian resident working for a US company with no tax forms?
Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a tax mess and could really use some guidance. I've been working remotely for this small US company since early 2023, but they aren't providing any official tax forms (this was part of my agreement when I got hired). They send tax forms to their US employees, but since they have zero presence in Canada, they hired me as a "consultant" and basically told me I'm on my own for taxes. I'm getting paid about $48,000 USD annually through monthly wire transfers. I do have the transfer receipts in my bank statements, but haven't received any formal documentation from the company yet - probably need to bug the finance department about this. Some background: I live in Ontario, work 100% remote, and just got my Canadian PR last year. I don't have a T4 or W-2 or anything like that. No other income sources or investments. I also moved apartments in 2023 if that matters. So my questions: 1. What do I need to file my Canadian taxes properly this year? 2. Do I also need to file something in the US? I've tried contacting some accountants but everyone's totally booked solid. I know I'm cutting it close to the deadline but had some family emergencies that pushed this off. Any advice would be seriously appreciated - I'm kinda freaking out at this point!
18 comments


Carmen Flores
You're dealing with what's called self-employment income since you're working as a consultant. Here's what you need to do: For Canadian taxes, you'll need to report this income on your T1 General return, specifically on Form T2125 (Statement of Business or Professional Activities). Since you don't have a T4, you'll need to calculate your income based on those wire transfer receipts. Convert the USD amounts to CAD using the Bank of Canada annual exchange rate for 2023. You'll also be able to deduct legitimate business expenses that were needed to earn that income - things like a portion of your home office expenses, internet, computer equipment, etc. Keep all receipts and documentation! For US taxes, as a Canadian resident with no US citizenship or green card, you likely don't need to file a US tax return since you're performing the work in Canada. The company should have been issuing you a 1099-NEC form, but even without it, you generally wouldn't need to file in the US. I strongly recommend using accounting software like SimpleTax (now Wealthsimple Tax) to help you through this process, especially for calculating self-employment taxes in Canada, which include CPP contributions.
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Yuki Sato
•Thank you for explaining this! So I'm considered self-employed from the Canadian perspective? Do I need to register as a business or something first? And for the exchange rate, should I use the annual average rate or the rate on the day each payment was made? I have all my home office setup receipts but wasn't sure if I could claim those.
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Carmen Flores
•You don't need to register as a business if you're operating as a sole proprietor under your own name. If you want to use a business name, then you would need to register. For the exchange rate, you can use either the annual average exchange rate for the year, or the rate on the day each payment was received - just be consistent with whichever method you choose. Absolutely claim those home office expenses! You can claim a reasonable portion of rent, utilities, internet, and maintenance costs based on the percentage of your home used for work. Make sure to keep all receipts and documentation showing these were legitimate business expenses. You can also claim computer equipment, software subscriptions, and other tools needed for your work.
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Andre Dubois
After dealing with a similar situation last year, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) super helpful for organizing all my foreign income documentation. I was working remotely for a UK company while living in Canada, and my situation was a mess with no clear documentation. The tool helped me analyze all my bank statements and create proper documentation that satisfied both my accountant and CRA requirements. I uploaded my bank statements showing the wire transfers, and it organized everything into a format that made sense for tax filing. It also helped me track my business expenses and figure out what was deductible for my home office situation.
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CyberSamurai
•Does taxr.ai handle the currency conversion automatically? I'm in a similar situation but with Australian income and I'm getting confused about how to report everything properly with the fluctuating exchange rates.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•I'm wondering if this would work for my situation too. I'm a dual US-Canadian citizen working remotely for multiple US clients. None of them send me proper tax forms and I'm always struggling at tax time. Does it help with figuring out the self-employment tax obligations on both sides of the border?
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Andre Dubois
•Yes, it handles the currency conversion automatically! You can choose whether you want it to use the daily rate for each transaction or the annual average rate. It pulls the official rates from Bank of Canada data, so it's reliable for CRA purposes. For multiple clients and dual citizenship situations, it's extremely helpful. I have friends who are dual citizens using it to organize their documentation for both countries. It helps track income sources separately and categorizes everything appropriately for both tax systems. It won't file your taxes directly, but it creates documentation that makes it much easier to file accurately or hand off to an accountant.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and wow - what a lifesaver for my cross-border tax situation! I uploaded all my bank statements and PayPal history, and it organized everything perfectly. The currency conversion feature saved me hours of calculations, and the expense categorization helped me identify deductions I would have missed. What really impressed me was how it formatted everything for both Canadian and US tax requirements. I was able to download reports specifically designed for each country's tax forms. My accountant was shocked at how organized everything was compared to my usual tax mess! Definitely recommend it to anyone dealing with foreign income without proper tax documentation. Saved me a ton of stress and probably money too from the additional deductions it helped me identify.
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Jamal Carter
If you're still having trouble getting through to an accountant, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get direct help from CRA. I was in a similar situation last year - self-employed with US clients and no idea how to file properly. After weeks of trying to get through to CRA for guidance, I found Claimyr and they got me connected to a CRA agent in under 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. The agent walked me through exactly what forms I needed and how to report my income properly. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The CRA agent I spoke with was actually really helpful and didn't make me feel stupid for not knowing how to handle my situation. They even flagged my account with notes about my unique circumstances to help prevent issues during processing.
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Mei Liu
•Does this actually work? I've been trying to reach CRA for 3 weeks about my cross-border income situation and keep getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. How does Claimyr get you through when the phone lines are completely jammed?
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Liam O'Donnell
•This sounds too good to be true. CRA's phone system is notoriously impossible, especially during tax season. What's the catch? Do they just keep auto-dialing until they get through or something?
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Jamal Carter
•It absolutely works! They use an automated system that navigates through the phone menu and waits on hold for you. When a real person finally answers, you get a call connecting you directly to the agent. No more waiting on hold for hours! There's no real catch - they just handle the frustrating part of getting through the phone system. I was skeptical too, but when I got connected to a CRA agent after trying unsuccessfully for days on my own, I was totally converted. The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful with my cross-border income questions, and saved me from making mistakes on my return.
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Liam O'Donnell
So I was totally skeptical about Claimyr but decided to try it out of desperation when I couldn't reach CRA about my US income situation. I'm not exaggerating when I say it ACTUALLY WORKED. Got connected to a CRA agent in about 35 minutes after spending 3 days trying on my own with no success. The agent walked me through exactly how to report my US consulting income without proper tax forms, which forms I needed to include with my return, and how to properly claim home office expenses. They even gave me their direct extension for follow-up questions! For anyone else struggling with cross-border income issues and needing guidance directly from CRA - this is legitimately the only way I've found to get through during tax season. Completely worth it for the peace of mind knowing I'm filing correctly.
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Amara Nwosu
I've been in this exact situation for years (Canadian working for US companies remotely). Here's what I've learned: 1. You're considered self-employed in Canada, so you'll file a T2125 form with your regular T1 return 2. Keep track of ALL business expenses - home office (measured by square footage %), internet, computer equipment, software subscriptions 3. You need to charge/collect HST if your income exceeds $30,000 in any 12-month period 4. For US taxes, as a Canadian resident with no US citizenship/green card, you typically DON'T need to file unless you physically worked in the US I use QuickBooks Self-Employed to track everything throughout the year - makes tax time so much easier. The app lets you categorize expenses, track mileage, and generate reports for tax filing.
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AstroExplorer
•Wait, do you need to register for a HST number right away when you start, or only after you hit the $30k threshold? I'm in a similar situation and just realized I might be over that amount already.
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Amara Nwosu
•You only need to register for HST once you exceed $30,000 in revenue in any consecutive 12-month period. Once you hit that threshold, you need to register within 29 days. If you're just starting out and don't expect to hit $30K right away, you don't need to register immediately. If you've already exceeded the threshold and haven't registered yet, I'd recommend registering ASAP and talking to an accountant about how to handle the HST you should have collected. The CRA is usually reasonable if you self-correct and explain the situation, especially for first-time issues like this.
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Giovanni Moretti
Has anyone used TurboTax Self-Employed for this kind of situation? I'm in almost the exact same boat (working for a US startup while living in BC) and wondering if the software can handle this or if I need something more specialized.
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Fatima Al-Farsi
•I've used TurboTax Self-Employed for my US-Canada income situation for the past two years and it works fine. Just make sure you convert all your USD income to CAD (I use the Bank of Canada annual average exchange rate to keep it simple). The software walks you through the T2125 form pretty well. The only tricky part is tracking all your business expenses throughout the year - TurboTax doesn't help with that part. I use a separate expense tracking app and then just input the totals by category at tax time.
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